A Gamble
by darkbluemoon13
Summary: Ariadne is working with the team on a case a month after the Inception job.  But what she is not ready for is when she and Eames run into serious trouble. rated T for some violence. I don't own Inception, Christopher Nolan does- disclaimer
1. Chapter 1

It had been only a month since the Inception. We all went our separate ways, but still kept in touch. I decided to go back to Paris to finish my studies and continue working in the dream field on breaks between semesters and summers. But I decided to do this job with the team. It would only take the weekend and it was a very easy job at that.

Eames and I were walking from the market, carrying grocery bags full of snack foods and drinks. Even if it was going to be a quick and easy job, we still needed to remain healthy. It wasn't until we reached the darker part of Paris, with only a few flickering lights of stores, bars, and the spaced out old Victorian lamp posts to light the way, that I felt someone watching us. I muttered under my breath to Eames to walk a little faster.

"Afraid of the dark now, are we?" he said in a teasing tone.

I gave him a glare trying to say without words that we needed to get out of there fast. But Eames didn't get the message. We soon reached a corner to a dimly lighted block. A deep chill ran up my spine as I stepped out onto the cobbled street. Eames lagged behind a little; he seemed to be listening for something.

Without warning, three men dressed head-to-toe in black ran out from the shadows and descended on Eames and me. We instantly dropped our bags, groceries smacking into the ground and going every which way. One of the men came at me, though was called back to help the others restrain Eames. He was kicking and punching and flailing about with all of his strength, getting one of the men in the jaw. But soon one had restrained his arms, and then the other two turned to me.

"Ariadne run! Go! Get out of here!" yelled Eames, his face now slightly red because the man who restrained him was now holding tightly onto his neck.

I gave a reluctant look back, hesitating. The glare Eames gave me told me to run for my life. I hesitated one more time, sending once last sorrowful glance at Eames, before I sprinted off. Not even five seconds later I heard two sets of pounding footsteps behind me. I sprinted down cobbled streets, breath coming in hisses, the echo of our stomping feet resounding through the empty streets of Paris, and then an opportunity came. There was an alleyway that leads down to the river, and going down this alleyway could give me some distance between the two men.

Once the alleyway came up, I made a sharp turn into it, catching the two men off guard. I came out of the alleyway and saw a set of stairs that lead down to the river. I quickly jumped down the whole set of stairs, stumbling slightly, and started running towards a nearby bridge. As I reached the underside of the bridge, one of the men leaped down from the top edge of the bridge, which was a good fifteen foot drop, and blocked my path to the stairs to the upper part of the bridge. I had no choice but to go under the bridge to the other side. The underside of the bridge was almost pitch-black as I ran quickly to the other side.

No sooner had I reached the middle of the underside of the bridge did the other man step out and painfully grabbed my arm. The man wore a wool-knit black ski mask, but I could see his eyes. They were hazel. The man with the icy hazel eyes smacked me into the wall as his friend came jogging up, this man had hard, dark brown eyes. I promised myself that I wasn't going down without a fight.

As soon as the brown-eyed man came closer, I placed a good kick right below the belt. He fell to his knees in agony. The hazel-eyed man then slammed me back onto the brick wall, fireworks exploding behind my eyes. I recovered and then started to punch and kick him, getting a good kick to his jaw. The man I hit below the belt slowly stood up, faced me, hatred filling his glare, and then swiped a punch at my temple. He threw another punch which hit me in my nose,and it started to drip blood. Before I could react, he slammed his knee up into my gut and I gasped in pain. For the finale, he lifted me off my feet and threw me at the wall with all his might, another fireworks show occurred before I crumpled to the cold ground at his feet. I let out one last cry of agony.

Everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

"How the hell did this happen?" Cobb yelled over the phone. He was furious

Cobb was retired and spending time with his kids in the U.S. But from time to time he called to monitor the team.

"You were supposed to watch her! You were supposed to watch over the whole team! To make sure something like this didn't happen!" Cobb seethed with anger, all of it directed mainly at Arthur.

"How could you let them walk the streets of Paris without a weapon? Why didn't you have one on you Eames?" Cobb hissed at Eames.

Eames had gotten away. Right after Ariadne and the two men were out of earshot, he expertly twisted in his captors arms, flipped him, knocked him out, and hid his unconscious body in the shadows. He then ran in the direction Ariadne and the two men went, but found no sign of her or the men. He hurried to the warehouse and spilled the whole story to Arthur and Yusuf.

"Do I have to come back?"

"No, we'll take care of it," Arthur said in a calm voice, "Yusuf, go call Miles. We are going to need him for this."

"Do you have any idea of who these people are?" Cobb asked in a more calm voice.

"No, but we are trying to figure that out." Arthur said carefully.

"God dammit Arthur, just figure it out! Apparently they must have gotten wind of the Inception job and that Ariadne was the best architect around. She is in serious danger Arthur!" Cobb raised his voice again.

"We know! God Cobb, you think we don't know that?" Arthur lost his cool, finally breaking out in anger. "We'll get her back. I've got a plan," he hung up and turned towards Eames and Yusuf.

"Eames, I'm going to have to ask a lot from you. You are going to have to take a huge risk to get Ariadne back, but this is the only way." Arthur looked straight at Eames.

Eames contemplated it for a minute then said, "I'll do it."

I opened my eyes. My head was pounding with pain. I was drowsy, tired, and weak. The room I was in was almost pitch black, the only light source can from the pale moon light streaming in from a high set window behind me. It smelled damp, like it had just rained. The whole room was concrete, similar to the warehouse. I couldn't make out any distinct features since it was so dark.

I realized that I was in a fold out metal chair, hands tied behind my back, the rope tied tight, almost halfway up my forearm. My legs were tied at the ankles and my thighs were tied together. My navy blue scarf was made into a make-shift gag. I guess these people didn't want me leaving.

I listened hard for footsteps or voices. A pair of footsteps came down what I suspected to be a hallway and stopped just short of my locked door.

"You idiot! You were supposed to bring her back unharmed! Look at her; she's been beaten to a pulp! Now we have to wait until she heals before we can make her dream! God knows how long that will take with the condition you put her in," the man's voice was low and commanding. He was in a fit of rage from the sound of it.

"She almost hit me hard enough to make sure I'd never had children!" the other man protested, his voice slightly high in defense.

"I don't care what she did. Your mission was to bring her back unharmed, which you obviously failed. You were also supposed to bring back the man, which was another failure. Now you have to bring her food and water until the job is finished. Don't screw that up. We need her alive for this," the man finished, signaling that the conversation was over. I heard only one pair of footsteps recede down the hall.

The other man let out a grunt of anger as his punched the wall. He then let out a stream of curses as he receded the opposite way down the hall.

I let out a sigh of relief. At least they were going to keep me alive, for awhile longer at least. First I had to make sure I wasn't dreaming. How did I get here? I was kidnapped by two men this evening, got knocked unconscious, and then ended up in this room. But how did I get from the underside of the bridge to this room? This was going to take awhile.

I scooted around in my chair, trying to feel for my totem. At least knowing that my totem was there would be proof enough that I wasn't dreaming, and a comfort, too. My totem was my only connection to reality in this place. I scooted even more, not feeling my totem in my pocket. I looked down at my pocket, where I always kept my bishop, and I didn't see the familiar bump. Oh God.

I lost my totem.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I've decided to take this story at a slower pace. The reason why I am doing this is because I usually get an idea in my head, can't stop thinking about it, write it, and then it's done by the second chapter. :/ But there will be more intensity and all that jazz, all I'm going to do is add a tad bit more detail, because I think I am lacking in that. Thank you all the people who story alerted and reviewed. It's very much appreciated. Sorry this is longer than usual!  
**

"You ready?" asked Arthur, going over every last little detail.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Eames sighed as Yusuf was helping him shrug on his beige jacket.

"I think we're good to go!" Yusuf said confidently, "Walk back to where you were last night. Wait for one hour. Then we will follow after we see you start moving. This has got to work; this is our only shot Eames."

"Thanks for the pep talk, bud," Eames said sarcastically.

Eames strode out of the warehouse into the chilly night after receiving the last goodbyes from his teammates and Miles. The full moon was shining through the clouds, lighting the sky even more. The streets of Paris were quiet, his footsteps echoed through the streets, sounding like thunder every time he took a step. There were very few lights; only a couple of late night stores and old Victorian lamps lit the way. The whole effect was eerie, very unlike Paris in the daytime.

He arrived at his destination, which was where he and Ariadne were jumped only last night. It wasn't long before he heard distant footsteps, and two figures, dressed in black again, emerged from the blackness. Eames smirked before he jokingly said, "Just can't resist me, can you?"

One of the men stepped forward and said commandingly with a threatening glare, "If you want to see your friend alive, come with us or we will kill her."

"Did you get that cheesy quote from a movie there, love?" Eames chuckled, "Fine I'll go with you," Eames said more seriously, "But she better not be harmed or I'll go after you myself," Eames ended in a threatening tone. He stepped forward, hands raised to shoulder level in surrender.

The other man stepped forward, producing shiny handcuffs that glinted in the low light, from his pocket, and continued to handcuff Eames. They then proceeded to guide him over to an old, beat up gray van that was waiting at the other end of the stranded street. Eames prayed to God that they did not search him. If they did, their whole plan would go up in smoke.

I woke with a start. I must have drifted off, though I don't know how with the uncomfortable position I was sitting in. Someone came in through the heavy door, the room now flooded with bright light. The figure had his back to the light, so I couldn't see his face, but he appeared to be putting the jingling keys back into his pocket. He came over and crouched down by my chair, throwing the food he brought me, which consisted of bread and a bruised banana, and a mug of water on the floor. He then took off my make-shift gag.

My eyes had adjusted to the brightness of the light and I recognized the man crouching in front of me. He was the man I hit below the belt. This man had hard, brown eyes that blazed with anger, a tight set mouth, a white scar on his temple, and hair that was a light chocolate brown, not cut too short or too long, just long enough for it to go every which way no matter how hard he tried to keep it tamed. He really did look…intimidating.

He gave her a long contemplating look before he said, "First off, call me Burick, and secondly, I want you to behave. You've already caused me enough trouble as it is."

I snorted in disgust before I exclaimed, "As if!" I started off in a set of giggles.

He stood up in frustration and whispered, "You better, girl, if you ever want to have your totem again." He gave me a small, evil smile.

Immediately I stopped. My eyes went wide with fear. He laughed menacingly and then reached in his pocket and brought out my golden bishop, gleaming in the light as he dangled it in front of my face.

"If you want this back and if you know what's good for you, I'd suggest you do what we tell you," he said before leaving the room once more, pulling the door shut as the soft click of the lock echoed through the room as I was left in darkness once again. That click was the click away from my freedom, my reality, and my totem. I felt devastated. I dimly remember hot tears slowly running down my cheeks, staining my gag as my barrier slowly cracked, and then broke completely, my pain and my sadness tearing out, leaving me sobbing in complete blackness.

Eames walked through a hallway, steps clicking on the concrete floor. He was blindfolded and handcuffed, so he had to be lead to a cell. They stopped somewhere in mid-stride, seemingly by a door. He heard the distinctive sound of a lock clicking open and a door opening. He was roughly shoved into the cell, blind fold and handcuffs quickly taken off, and turned about to his captor.

"We'll turn on the lights. The boss will see both of you in an hour. Don't start any funny business or you'll regret it," said his captor threateningly. He then turned on his heel and shut and locked the door. The lights overhead flickered, then came on, lighting the whole room in a dim, sickly yellow.

Eames turned around on his heel as soon as the light came on and found Ariadne in the worst state he had ever seen her. Her gray t-shirt was stained with dirt and flecks of blood, her dark denim jeans were covered in dirt and ripped up, her blue converse were scuffed and had grass and blood stains on them. But what horrified him the most was her face. She had multiple cuts and scratches across her face, there was dried blood that ran from her nose to her tiny chin, she had black and blue bruises on her cheek, her temple, and on her eye, she had tear stains running down her red, puffy cheeks, and her navy blue scarf was used as a gag that was pulled tightly across her mouth.

She looked at him with such pleading and fear. He ran over to her and started to untie her. Her hands were slightly purple from the ropes being tied so tight. Once he got her untied he swiftly took off her gag and let her cry into his shoulder. As he cradled her in his lap, he murmured soft reassuring words in her ear. He felt a bump on the back of her head along with sticky blood. He was disgusted at what these bastards did to her.

After Ariadne calmed down a bit, he checked the back of her head to find a deep gash and a bump the size of a half of a baseball. Eames did his best to clean the wound and comfort Ariadne. Her crying soon turned into sad hiccups.

"What are you doing here?" she sniffed.

"Getting you back, love!" Eames said reassuringly.

"But how? How can you help me if you're in here yourself?" she asked innocently.

"Tracking device, darling. It's hidden in my clothes. Back up should be here soon," he said, giving her a reassuring smile.

She got off his lap and straightened up before she said admiringly, "Smart," and gave a feeble smirk.

They continued to talk, sometimes trying to figure a way out, sometimes just reassuring each other. Ariadne did tell Eames about the man named Burick having her totem.

"Well I can certainly assure you that this is definitely reality, love," he whispered grimly.

They heard the familiar click of the lock as Burick opened the door. He stepped in with his friend, named Sullivan, and said mockingly, "Times up, boss wants to see you."

Much to Ariadne's despair, she and Eames were lead opposite directions down the hall. The man named Sullivan lead her down the hallway and then down a separate, smaller one. He brought her down to a large wooden door at the end of the hallway, knocked twice, and then opened the door, gently pushing her inside the room.

The room itself was very office like and imposing. The floor to ceiling windows were covered with ruby red curtains, the desk stood there with all it's shiny, mahogany glory with a black leather chair sitting proudly behind it, bookshelves lined the walls, green sitting chairs were in front on the desk, and to top it all off was a blue and white print designed rug. Off in a corner stood a man gazing intently at an oak grandfather clock, its hands ticking away.

He turned at the sound of her entrance and smiled, waving her towards one of the dark green chairs. She only stood by it, refusing to sit.

"Hello Ariadne, I've heard a lot about you," he gave a fake smile, "Call me Detric."

She gave him an odd look, finding that he didn't want to go on a first name basis. But he only chuckled at her look and continued on talking, "Lets get to business then. You have some amazing talents Ariadne, talents that are important to what I need to accomplish. So, I want to propose a deal," he took a pause, looking at her intently, then whispered, "We need your help Ariadne; I need you to do a job for me, an important job. I want you to make the best, most complicated maze your mind can create. You can have all the time you need to make it," he finished, looking hopefully at her.

Ariadne scoffed at the idea, and then whispered in a disgusted tone, "Over my dead body."

Detric's smile faltered, then he frowned and thought over what she just said. Slowly, his mouth formed into an evil smile, his eyes dancing with menace, and he hissed, "That will be very soon, then Ariadne. Maybe your dear teammate will follow the same fate as you. But when you and he are seconds from death, you will have on your conscious that you could have saved him. You could have saved the both of you. But you will live if you perform this job for me. You have until midnight to make up your mind. Choose wisely, Ariadne."

I looked at the clock. It said it was 10: 16 p.m. Crap. I didn't have much time. I had Eames and my life hanging in the balance. This was a gamble I didn't want to take.


	4. Chapter 4

"Boss! We've got a problem!" Sullivan shouted; his hazel eyes ablaze.

Sullivan had just spotted an unusual looking gray van that had just pulled up to the front of the Chrome Corps warehouse. Upon realizing that this van was Eames' backup, he informed Detric immediately.

Detric stormed out of his office, green eyes full of fury, and rushed to Ariadne's and Eames' cell. Burick was on Detric's heels with ropes and keys ready. Sullivan, Detric and Burick dragged Eames and Ariadne out of the cell towards an awaiting van at the back of the grand warehouse.

As soon as the three men entered the cell, Ariadne started struggling and fighting along with Eames. She kicked Burick in the shins as hard as she could, causing him to buckle slightly, but then earning a hard slap across face. Eames, upon seeing Ariadne get slapped, sprang at Burick with tremendous fury flashing across his face and hazel eyes. He was beating with great strength on Burick's ribs, making Burick's breaths come in terrible gasps and hisses. Sullivan responded quickly and wrenched Eames off of his teammate and threw him to the ground. Ariadne started to sprint to Eames' aide but was pulled sharply back by Detric and he restrained her by wrapping his arms tightly around her waist, pinning her arms against her. She started flailing about helplessly around; trying to rip free of his grasp, but it was useless. Burick and Sullivan restrained Eames while they were escorted quickly to the awaiting black van.

They were practically thrown in the back of the van. As the doors were slammed shut and locked, Burick heaved himself into the driver's seat and slammed on the gas. Then they were off with a screeching start. As the van was jerking around viciously, Detric shouted, "Put them under now!"

"But she can't do it! Not with the condition she is in!" Sullivan retorted.

"Do it! Do it now!" Detric screamed at him, waving his fist in a threatening manner.

With one last rueful sigh, Sullivan jammed the needle into her arm, putting her under, and then moved onto Eames. With the two finally under, he and Detric quickly put themselves under, jolting them into the dream world.

I was in some woods. It was night time, with a full moon out that illuminated the forest. Pale light weaved its way through tree branches and stars were scattered across the midnight blue sky. I started walking slowly forward, leaves and branches crunching under my feet, sounding so loud in contrast with the extreme silence of the night.

Then I heard it. Music. Music with a soft, sweet melody, playing at a moderato tempo. There was a steady beat playing quietly in the back round of the melody of the beautiful flutes and the harmony of the trumpets. This music was so…mesmerizing, especially when I had no idea where I was. I knew I need to follow the music. The music would lead me to civilization, people, and answers.

I started running in the direction of the music. This was hard because the soft music echoed in the seemingly empty woods. With every heavy step I took, a tree limb cracked under my pounding feet, sounding like thunder. _ Come on Ariadne! Be quiet! Find a way out of here, and then FIND SOME ANSWERS! _I thought this quietly to myself, cheering myself on, pushing myself further.

Just when I thought I was nearing the music, a pale hand shot out, latching onto my elbow. Before I could even choke out a scream, the other hand clamped down over my mouth, silencing me. Our footsteps rustled through the underbrush as I was being dragged somewhere. I whimpered into my captors palm as I spotted a nearby hospital-looking building.

He led me in through a side door and dragged me down a white and black tiled hallway that smelled like bleach. The bright white lights made me squint at the sudden change of lighting. Once my vision returned to normal, I finally got a good look at my captor. It was Detric, in all his long, pointed nose and business suit glory. Great.

Our feet made loud, obnoxious clicking noises as we made our way down the polished hallways. Detric pulled me down another, smaller hallway, staying eerily silent the whole time. We come upon a door that opens up to a stairway, like the kind people use when they don't want to use the elevator. He backs me up into a corner right across from the staircase and releases his tight grasp on my elbow. I didn't want to make eye contact, so I fixed my gaze stubbornly on his expensive Italian shoes.

It wasn't until he waved a hand in front of my face did I look up. I gasped when I realized that it was Eames in front of me, and not Detric.

"Eames! Oh, I'm so glad to see you! Do you know whose dream we are in?" I asked hurriedly.

"I have no clue, darling. Your guess is as good as mine. But what I do know is that we have to get out of this dream. We need to either get high enough to give ourselves the kick or we need to find a weapon fast," He whispered.

"But then whose is the mark? It must be one of us, or we wouldn't be here," I questioned while still backed in the corner.

"I really have no clue, love. But our number one priority is to get out of here. So we need to go now!" Eames whispered urgently.

I then heard distant voices, slowly coming closer until they were distinctive yells, looking for us. They sounded like they were in the hallway right outside the stairwell door.

"Eames! What do we do?" I whispered; panic slowly rising in my voice.

"No time love!" he whispered quickly before forging quickly back into Detric.

Before I could say anything, he kissed me lightly and quickly, and then the voices quickly faded down the hall. I turned to him and asked, "Did you just pull an Arthur?"

He gave a mischievous grin and jokingly chuckled before he asked, "Is that what you call it, darling? Then I guess so." He gave another mocking smile.

I evilly chuckled, drawling each laugh out before I slapped him hard across the cheek, leaving a distinct pink hand mark. I stalked away from him, glowering, while he stood there rubbing his cheek with a mischievous grin practically plastered on his face.

But that would soon change.

**AN: Good points? Bad points? Things I should improve on? Let me know! Oh, and by the way, I am not sure how long this story will go, but I already have Chapter 5 planned out so it should be out soon! R&R!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: okay! This chapter is done, but I don't know how I'm going to continue this, because right now I think I'm having a slight writer's block. I'm at least going to write one more chapter and if I suddenly get a spark of brilliance, I might write even more chapters. Though I might go deeper a little bit, but I don't know. *sigh* this is a lot of work for a teen! R&R please!**

"Yusuf, you've got to drive faster! Catch up with them!" Arthur yelled as he stuck his pistol out the van's window and fired off a few random shots in the general direction of the Chrome Corps van. Arthur was dressed for a fight, an extra gun and several cases of ammunition filled his brown leather jacket and his jeans. There was even ammunition in his brown hiking boots.

Miles clicked some more ammunition into his own gun, and then breathlessly said, "Arthur, you've got to be careful! We don't even know what condition they're in! For God sake, Arthur, figure out a plan and follow it! Let Yusuf deal with the driving, and we'll deal with the guns. Get yourself together!"

"Arthur! What should I do?" Yusuf asked shakily, panic filling his voice. The gray van was jerking violently, occasionally swerving when he drove around the few cars that were still on the almost abandoned streets of Paris.

"Just…wait a sec! I'm trying to figure this out!" Arthur said, frustration rising in his voice.

There was a dimly lit, cobblestone bridge up ahead. The Chrome Corps van was almost near the start of the bridge. Maybe if we run them off the bridge, we can retrieve Eames and Ariadne. But that would be too dangerous. If they are hurt, then driving them into a cold river wasn't the best idea. They might die. But this may be our only chance to get them back, the Chrome Corps van was losing us, quickly gaining distance.

_Come on Arthur! Make a decision! You're running out of time! Make your decision! Make it NOW!_

God, so little time! No time at all to look at details. The tracking device's batteries were dead. If we run them off the bridge, there is a chance we might save them. But there is also a chance that they might die. On the other hand if we let them get away, which might buy us some time, and it may give Ariadne and Eames more time to live or escape somehow.

The choice has to be made…

We were running. Running away. The second I stormed out of the stairwell, they saw me. Eames jogged briskly out once he heard me gasp in terror. He grabbed my wrist and we quickly darted down the black and white hallway. The pounding pair of footsteps behind us made an annoying clacking sound as they tried to catch us. I thought I saw a glimpse of a handgun as I quickly looked over my shoulder, though Eames just dragged me forward. Our breaths came in gasps and wheezes, and all we could smell was the awful stench of bleach. My chest hurt from the labored breathing, but I pushed on.

Just as the men came right up on our heels and I could feel someone's fingertips glance across my shoulder, trying to grab hold of me, we were suddenly thrown into zero gravity. Being throw into zero gravity definitely caught me off guard and unawares. Eames and I hit the ceiling together. My breath got knocked out of me when my head hit the florescent light, cracking the glass into an intricate spider web design.

But Eames was off and…floating. He grabbed at the off-white ceiling tiles, pulling us along, and trying to gain an advantage against the confused Sullivan and Detric. They quickly recovered from their daze and started to desperately snatch at the ceiling and tile walls, trying to follow us. I soon realized that we couldn't give ourselves the kick; there was no gravity, no pull, no force and most definitely no way out of this dream without a gun.

As we free-floated down the hall, we reached upon one of the red emergency back doors. As Eames fumbled with the door, I looked around for an object that could be used as a weapon. All I could find were some free-floating syringes, which we couldn't use unless we wanted to needle ourselves out of this dream, which I didn't like the idea of since we still could feel pain in dreams.

"Okay Ari, once I open this door, I need you to hang on to me and stay close. I don't know whose dream this is, and I don't know what type of subconscious defense there is. So we have got to be careful. I took one of the guy's guns when we were thrown into zero g's, so we should be alright for now," Eames explained with a seriousness that I couldn't believe came from him.

"Wait…how come I never get a gun? During the Inception job, I never even held a gun throughout the whole job! Do you not trust me with a gun? Do you think I'm really that bad of a shot?" I asked annoyed.

Eames chuckled heartily, then turned his dark eyes toward me and lightly said, "First of all, love, we only have one gun. Secondly, we needed to protect you and we didn't want to test your shooting skills so close to a job that important. So calm down darling, it's nothing personal," he gave another hearty laugh and said, "Oh, and by the way love, you look great in zero gs," he winked at me playfully.

I tried slapping him again, but I was unsuccessful since he floated out of my range, so I let out a frustrated grunt and let my face heat up with embarrassment.

"Eames, just wait until we get out of here, you are _so_ going to pay!" I said with determination, frustration, and revenge in my voice, all wrapped up together like a package.

"Sure you will, darling," Eames said mockingly.

Eames opened the bright red doors and we floated gracefully outside. What we saw terrified us, it was unbelievable. I had never seen anything like it, not even in the Inception job. This scared me to my core, leaving me shaking, and leaving Eames in complete shock, for once having nothing to say.

**AN: again! I actually have the last two chapters planned out! (maybe not the last chapters) But you never know! :D**


	6. Chapter 6

They were everywhere. _Everywhere._ We finally found people from someone's subconscious. But this person must have one sick, twisted mind.

These people, if you could even call them that, were floating at different levels in the air. Their appearance was gruesome, I could barely fathom it. The subconscious people were covered in crimson blood, some coming from their eyes and floating off into the air. They were covered in black and blue bruises and had deathly pale skin. Their eyes were iced over, looking like glass, and they stared blankly into the distance. Their clothes were torn and covered with dirt. From their mouths came sickening death moans, even their lips were cracked and peeling.

Once the red emergency doors practically slammed shut, the people turned at the sound and stared blankly at us. Then, they slowly started towards us, clawing at each other just to get closer to us.

"Eames! What do we do?" I asked fearfully.

"Not much we can do love, just grab hold of something and fight," he said this grimly, then he took a fighting stance, or as good as he could get in zero gravity.

"H-How many bullets do you have?" I asked, full on panic in my voice.

"Only a few, dear," he counted the bullets quickly while hanging onto a flag pole, "Six, we only have six bullets darling," he said softly, barely above a whisper.

I let out a shaky breath, and then looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon, but I found nothing. When the bloody people were only ten feet away, I grabbed onto a door handle from the red emergency door. Since I didn't have a weapon, I have to fight them raw.

Now they were upon us. They grabbed and clawed at us. I threw many punches and kicks, knocking some back, twirling around in the air into other people. But for the few I had knocked back, even more descended upon us. I let out a terrified scream as one clamped a clammy hand down on my shoulder, pushing me down while others started to grab at my other limbs. I lashed out once again, hitting one by my leg in the face, making his jaw crack loudly.

As I struggled, Eames let out a few shots, bullets flying slowly into three people, the bullets knocking them farther back as crimson blood dripping from their chests and floating in the air. From the amount of bullets I heard fired, he only had three bullets left. The rest of the subconscious people surrounded us, tearing and clawing at us. Searing pain racked through my body, I even heard Eames yell out in pain and let out a stream of profanities. He fired his last three shots, but it was too late.

_Break_

Yusuf speed up, crashing into the rear bumper of the Chrome Corps van. The Chrome Corps van swerved suddenly and crashed through the side of the cobble stone bridge and plummeted towards the black water. Once we heard the tremendous splash of the van hitting water, Yusuf, Miles, and I climbed out of our dented gray van. We rushed towards a nearby staircase that lead down to the riverbank. What we found shocked us completely.

_Break_

We jerkily woke up once we slammed into the water. The van soon filled with icy cold water and I felt a shock of pain and soon after a tingling numbness. Eames and I swam to the surface, but we soon got separated. Once I surfaced, I gasped air into my pained lungs. I frequently went back down in the water, sputter and choking on the river water.

All of a sudden I felt a harsh tugging on my long, brown hair. Then I felt someone's hand take a handful of hair and painfully dragged me by my hair to the riverbank. I tried to break free of my captor's grasp, but every time I tried he would push my head under the water for a few moments and pull me up to leave me coughing on water.

Once we reached the shore, I realized that my captor is Detric. Both of us are dripping wet as he harshly pulled me up by my hair to him. He took out a silver knife, holding it up to my throat. In the corner of my eye I saw Eames being held captive by Burick with a gun to his head. Sullivan was knocked out, lying by the riverside.

A million emotions were streaming through me. I felt complete hatred for Detric and his gang for getting Eames, me, and everybody else into this whole crazy situation. I felt fear for Eames because he had a gun to his head. I felt weak because I was in a situation I had no control over. I felt ashamed because I thought Arthur and Miles would be disappointed in me for not being more careful. I felt guilty because if I had just taken Detric's job, Eames wouldn't have a gun to his head and I wouldn't have a blade at my throat. I felt pain all over. I felt tears sting my eyes and one escaped, sliding down my wet cheek.

Detric looked across the river straight at Arthur with a crazed look and said, "Be careful Arthur, this is reality, and if I slit her throat, she won't wake up," he finished this with an evil, menacing smile.

Arthur glared back, eyes ablaze with fury. "Don't you dare or I'll kill you!" he yelled angrily through his teeth.

"Ah-ah-ah! You better be careful!" Detric chuckled.

He pressed the knife even closer into my throat, almost drawing blood. Then, thinking better of it, he wrapped his arm around my neck and squeezed tightly. I started gasping for air as my windpipe was slowly closing off. Soon I started to see little black dots in my vision, and then the black started to fill the corner of my vision, slowly closing in on the center.

_Break_

As soon as I saw this Detric man squeeze Ariadne's neck, trying to make her go unconscious, I pulled out my gun. I took precise aim at his head, trying to be careful not to hit Ariadne and fired my gun. The bullet struck him in the neck, making him let go of Ariadne, and knocking him backwards until he fell down unconscious.

Just as I turned to take out Burick, Eames twisted in Burick's arms and snatched his gun away, smashing the gun handle over his head, knocking him out as well. We looked toward Ariadne and found her lying on the ground, her head in the water, her hair streaming down with the current. As Miles, Yusuf and I ran back towards the bridge, Eames ran over to Ariadne and pulled her out of the water into his lap. He cradled her unconscious body while waiting for Arthur, Miles and Yusuf to come.

_God I hope she's okay please let her be okay!_ Everyone had this running through their heads. Let's just hope their prayers are answered.

**AN: Sorry I haven't updated in awhile! But I hope you like this chapter, though it is really, really long. The next chapter will be the last sadly. I really do appreciate all you guys who reviewed, story alerted, and favorited, it really made me think of ways to make this story so much better to please you all! Thanks so much! R&R! Oh and the reason why I added the breaks was because there were many different view points in this chapter and I didn't want to confuse you!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

It was all so _peaceful_. I was standing at the edge of a magnificent lake that reflected the extravagant oranges and pinks that the sunset pulsed through the nearly-cloudless sky. A cool wind whipped through my long hair, pushing it back from my face as I took the beautiful scene in. I could hear the final songs of birds recede into the night as crickets started to warm up for their night ensemble. I smelled a soft hint of flowers in the breeze. I felt calm and an almost healing sensation rushed through me. This feeling rejuvenated me. It seemed like all of my troubles just melted away, like there wasn't a care in the world.

I then saw the amazing scene start to fade, and I knew I was starting to wake, but I didn't want to, this was too perfect to pass! All I wanted was just a few more minutes, just a few! I then felt a slight tugging sensation, and I knew I was about to wake. I let out a sigh and let myself fall into the awakening.

_Break_

My eyes slowly opened. My body ached all over, though it was a dull ache. My head pounded with a searing pain. I felt eyelids sag with exhaustion, but I fought to keep them open. It felt that I was laying on something hard because my whole body was stiff straight. I looked down to find I was lying on a green cot.

I felt someone's warm hand clasping mine. I looked over to my right to find Miles sitting in a chair right by my head, clasping my hand, the other hand pinching the bridge of his nose, worry was lined and etched into his face. We were in the warehouse and I saw Arthur, Eames, and Yusuf pacing about the room. I tried to speak, but it came out as a weak sigh.

"Ariadne! You're awake!" Miles said with relief and surprise.

The others turned, surprised, and their faces flooded with relief. They ran over and crowded around the cot. It wasn't until then that I noticed that they were all in different clothes. Yusuf was in some jeans and a green t-shirt and a beige jacket. Arthur was in a two piece black suit with a light blue dress shirt under that with a thin black tie. Eames was in some jeans too with a brown leather jacket zipped all the way up with only a blue and white stripped polo shirt peeking out. Miles was in his regular dark blue sweater and beige khakis.

"H-How long have I been unconscious?" I asked shakily.

"Just a day and a half or so," Arthur said reassuringly, patting my leg.

"What happened to Detric and…?" I trailed off as I started to remember what happened.

"We took care of them," Eames said bluntly.

"What did they want with Eames and me?"

"They wanted you perform an extraction on Detric's child. Arthur found out that his wife had been murdered last year and that they haven't found the killer. But, Detric suspected that his son had witnessed the murder and that he saw who killed his wife. So he wanted you to make a maze so complicated that his son wouldn't have a chance to figure it out or get out. He then wanted Eames to forge into his late wife and scare the child into telling who him the killer was. I think he went mad with the excruciating grief," Miles explained.

"So why did he put us under in the van?" I asked, confused, slowly propping myself up on my elbows.

"He was scared that you guys would fight, so the easiest way to stop you was to sedate you and trap you in someone's dream," Yusuf explained.

"But why did they go into it?" I asked, still confused.

"They did it to keep you guys from giving yourselves the kick and waking up again. So they entered the dream to keep you guys busy," Yusuf explained again.

"But…but in the dream, all of these…dead people were there. W-Why were they there?" I stuttered again in fear at the mere mention of the dead people.

"You do ask too many questions darling," Eames said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. I glared at him, silencing him.

Miles chuckled awkwardly before he said, "Well, first of all, the dream was _your _dream," I gaped at him in horror, "But, the reason why your subconscious was like that is because you had a bad concussion and the state you were in at the time impacted your subconscious greatly. That's why those people were dead, per say. Your subconscious was reflecting your injured state and it multiplied it by a thousand," He finished, glancing at the others before looking back at me carefully, gauging my reaction. I admit that I was a little stunned by the information.

I sat up, and I swung my legs over the side of the cot as Arthur, Eames, and Yusuf stepped back to give me space. I stood up, but too fast, so my blood rushed down and I fell back. Miles hand shot towards my back, lowering me down to the cot. The others stood there with worry on their faces once more. I thanked Miles and reassured the others that I was fine. I took two deep breaths and stood up, slowly this time. Arthur offered me his arm and I took it. Once I had all my bearings, I let go.

"You have to be careful, Ariadne. You still have that concussion and a terrible bump on your head," Miles warned, eying me over carefully, "You all need to look after her for a few weeks. Always carry a gun on you," he looked at all of them with a measured look, "Never let her out of your sight and never leave her alone! I need to go back to the college for a meeting," Miles turned to me and hugged me in a very father-like way and whispered in my ear, "Please, stay safe!" He then let go and hurriedly rushed out the door.

Yusuf was zipping up his jacket when he turned to me and said, "I'm so relieved you're okay! Though you do look a bit…rugged," he turned to Eames and Arthur and said, "I'll take the next shift tomorrow. I have to go get more chemicals for our next job," he put his hand gently on my shoulder and cautioned, "Be careful and don't do too much. You need to rest up and heal." He squeezed of my shoulder before rushing out the door.

I walked over to Eames and Arthur and said jokingly, "Well! That was an interesting few days!"

Arthur smirked and let out a sigh of relief. Eames snorted and then chuckled. It then dawned on me that _I _was in different clothes, a light green t-shirt with light blue skinny jeans.

"Wait…Who changed my clothes? Who freaking changed my clothes?" I almost screamed in embarrassment, anger, shock, and terror.

Eames burst out in hysterical laughter, leaning against the wall for support. Arthur let out a long chuckle before he turned to me and said, "No need to worry Ariadne. We contacted one of your friends and she stopped by your apartment to pick up some of your clothes," he gestured toward the clothes I was wearing, "And she helped change you. We couldn't leave you in soaking wet clothes," he explained levelly.

Eames's laughter died down enough for him to choke out, "But we…didn't…change your undergarments… love…" He said this between bursts of laughter.

I rolled my eyes at Eames and sighed at his foolishness. I turned toward Arthur and asked playfully, "How do you deal with him everyday?"

Arthur smirked and said, "I really do not know, Ariadne. Its amazing that Cobb even hired him," he said jokingly, "Oh speaking of that, I called him after we rescued you guys. He's so relieved that you're safe. You should call him later. I'll go call him now and tell him you're awake and functioning. I think Eames is going to take first shift! I'll see you later tonight and Yusuf will take his shift in the morning."

"What about our current job?" I asked suddenly.

"Don't worry, they understood the circumstance…we are off the job," he said awkwardly.

Arthur hugged me and before he left I asked, "Why do you have to call it a shift? It sounds like I'm a prisoner or celebrity or something! And why does Eames have watch me first? I don't think that worked out the first time…" I said the last part jokingly, casting an apologetic glance at Eames.

"Don't worry, this time he's armed," Arthur said as he waved goodbye and left. Eames even showed me the gun, which was in a holster that was expertly concealed by his jacket.

I turned back toward Eames and called, "Hey Eames! Come here!"

He walked briskly over and suspiciously asked, "Why?"

I just smiled evilly and slapped him hard across the face, the piercing sound echoed through the warehouse. Eames stood there, surprised and shocked, rubbing his cheek, which now had a burning red hand print across it.

I laughed slowly and menacingly and then said, "Payback is a bitch," I chuckled mockingly, "And I _always_ get my revenge."

"Oh? Do you now? Well I guess you won't be needing this then!" he said this mockingly as he pulled out my totem, which was in a plastic baggie, out of his pants pocket and dangled it by the corner of the bag in front of my face.

I grabbed for the bag, but he lifted it out of my reach above his head.

"Unfair! I'm way shorter than you! Give me back my bishop!" I yelled loudly, desperately snatching at the bag that was completely out of my reach. I even resorted to clamping onto his shoulders and jumping for the bag.

"Ah-ah-ah! You have to give me something for it first!" he said mockingly, pushing me back a step.

"No way! That's _my_ totem! How would you feel if I took your poker chip?" I asked, frustrated as he just smirked and raised the plastic bag higher.

"You have to give me a kiss first, and then you get your totem," he said evilly as he saw the horror cross my face.

I contemplated my options. This was going to be terrible!

"Fine," I said, defeated. Eames was taken aback for a second, but then he smirked playfully.

He started to lean towards me and I leaned up towards him. Our faces were only two inches apart when I suddenly swerved and pecked him on his scraggly cheek. He had lowered the bag by then and I snatched it from his hand. I ran across to the other side of the warehouse, leaving him shocked once again.

He recovered from his shock quickly and a smiled brightened his face and then playfully said, "Smart. You had me fooled there for a second, darling. A little trickster is what you are!"

Once I had put my totem into the safety of my pocket I asked, "How did you get my totem back?"

"I took it from Burick. He had it in his pocket the whole time," he said simply.

"We…we should probably go, it's getting late," I said awkwardly.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go, love!" he exclaimed, striding over toward me and he took my wrist, tugging me to the front door.

So this was the little adventure in the irregular lives of the dream field workers. The team went on watching me for a few weeks, but that soon stopped. Our lives went back to normal, or as normal as working in the dream field could be. Cobb frequently called, checking up on us and giving us updates on his kids. Arthur and I still constantly bantered with Eames during work and outside of work. Though, from time to time I still check my totem twice, just to make sure that it's not a dream. All that distinguishes a dream from reality is a tilt of my bishop.

**AN: I am so sorry that this took so long to finish! I have had a pretty busy couple of weeks! But I am glad that I finished this. So…tell me what you like, dislike, and things I should improve on! :D If you have any suggestions for a story feel free to tell me! Reviews are very welcomed and loved! :D Thanks to all who reviewed, story alerted, and favorited my story!**


End file.
